IBM started its life as the Computing- Tabulating-Recording Company (C-T-R). It was incorporated in New York State on June 16, 1911. At first the company was broadly focused on making machinery, with a product portfolio that included commercial scales, industrial time recorders, tabulators, and punch cards, and even meat and cheese slicers.

1922: 2,043 employees, $9 million in revenues, and $1 million in net earnings.

The fact is that IBM has never restructured, and remains exactly the same as it was in 1956. It is a high-margin, relationship oriented, solution selling marketing company. Was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. If IBM can't see a 15% net margin on any product or solution it is offering, they get rid of it. It is not IBM who is restructuring. It is the world that is restructuring, and IBM is merely adapting to a changing environment, while IBM remains unchanged, exactly the same in all essential respects.

1981 IBM introduced the IBM PC with an 8088 processor and dual 5 1/4" floppy disks. Even though they were slow to get into the personal computer market and the device was assembled from off the shelf components using an Intel CPU instead of their usual in house designed processors, it made companies take the PC market seriously since for many, IBM was synonomus with the word, "computer".

Yes, the brave new world. No job security as long as the employers have the power. With the unemployment rate as it is, it looks like the companies will have the upper hand for quite a while, if not forever. IBM is still a great company and I expect it will continue to be.

>> Job security even if working for IBM won't promise it, writing about it might.

There is nothing like Job Security in the 21st century. Anyone that thinks otherwise is wrong. It is unprecedented to expect job security when we have all the resumes in LinkedIn with no fear from employers. People should expect the job can go any hour and be prepared.